A few hours ago at a large park in Fairfield Ohio, a 12 week old female puppy was found. If anyone knows the owners, please let us know. This adorable greater swiss mountain puppy wants to go home!
Oscar somehow works his swissy magic and finds another girlfriend. He does not discriminate, of course this greater swiss mountain dog likes the 5-15lb variety!
Once Oscar turned two years old, he was able to get his OFA tests done. OFA for a swissy should involve x-rays of the shoulders, hips, and elbows to clear them for breeding purposes. Yesterday Oscar and David woke up at 5:30AM to drive to Pennsylvania to meet with a vet who specializes in OFA. There was another greater swiss mountain dog ahead of us, who was nervous in the waiting room and had to be sedated. Oscar was not nervous, but he was rather cunning, wanting to walk out the door. I think that he was imagining that he was about to get a bath. Oscar’s turn finally came, and he went inside with the vet. The vet came out after 10 minutes with bad news and informed me that Oscar wiggled, threw his body weight around, and tried to escape twice. He felt bad about sedating him because Oscar was not some vicious dog trying to bite him; he was just trying to escape from the room, not realizing that it was only x-rays. He said that Oscar could have won the award for the worst patient ever. The front desk receptionist added, “And he’s been doing it for 30 years”. Once Oscar got a little sleepy and the x-rays were completed, the doctor said everything looked great with his tests!
To celebrate Oscar’s 2nd birthday, a basket filled with dozens of dog cookies baked by David was displayed in the lobby of Oscar’s Manhattan residence. With over 100 dogs in the building, the only barking to be heard was for more cookies.
The ready to bake cookies were a gift sent by FreshPet for Oscar and his friends. David has never baked before, but he wanted to ensure that Oscar had a great birthday. It was easy to bake the cookies. The oven was turned on, the cookies were put in, and 10 minutes later they looked and smelled just like real cookies! David was tempted to try them, but instead he let them cool as Oscar waited patiently to sample his treat. Once he got a taste of one cookie, the swissy started doing tricks in order to get a second cookie. The only thing missing from these cookies was a picture of a greater swiss mountain dog on the box!
Be sure to stop by for a treat if you are in the neighborhood tonight!
Two years ago, Oscar the Grouch, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog was born. It’s been a great two years from puppy to Grand Champion. But it almost never happened. Oscar’s mother Halo needed a C-section. The emergency vet had complications and most of the litter was lost except for Oscar and his two sisters. I am grateful everyday for having Oscar in my life. We experienced so much together, dog shows, sheep herding, dog parks, puppy day care, driving from NY to Florida together, GSMD national, Westminster, making the front page of the Wall St. Journal, etc. Once you go Swissy, there’s no going back.
After finishing his walks, Oscar always tries to run to my neighbor’s door to visit Rocco the Bulldog. Rocco will bark back and a play date is usually set for the Swissy and Bulldog. Unfortunately, today is a sad day because Rocco is moving away.
Rocco, who lived on my floor before Oscar, was a dog friend who Oscar grew up with. As a 12 lb puppy, Oscar ran away from Rocco, but later they became great friends. Whether they were playing tug of war, fetch or begging for treats, they always had a great time. Rocco will now be moving 15 blocks away, so they will see each other again, but it will never be the same as watching Oscar run down the hall to ask if Rocco could play.
Oscar The Grouch is thankful for all of the support his fans have given him. Some fans have e-mailed us with questions about how to handle veterinary issues. Oscar and David would like to answer all of their questions correctly. In order to help do so, we are announcing the addition of Dr. Audrey (the Vet)!
Beginning in two weeks, Dr Audrey will be writing a weekly column for Swissy Island. She will also be answering questions about dogs, so please have your questions ready! Stay tuned, much more is on the way…
Some people have asked what going to a Dog Show involves. When Oscar goes to a Dog Show, he is rated on how well he conforms to his Breed, the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. Jumping over a hurdle, doing tricks, or being in good health is not part of the conformation. However, in the UK for big shows such as Crufts (the European version of Westminster Kennel Club) they recently added a health check at the show to that list.
“The winners of the Bulldog, Pekingese, Clumber Spaniel, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff and Basset Hound classes were not allowed to progress to the Group stages of judging, and were not given their Best of Breed awards.
Vets were asked to look for conditions related to eye disease, lameness, skin disorders and breathing difficulty. These included inflammation related to poor eyelid conformation, signs of chronic damage to the corneal surface of the eye, dermatitis associated with skin folds and long or heavily coated ears, signs of respiratory difficulty or any lameness or hind limb weakness.
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “We want to ensure that only healthy dogs are rewarded in the show ring and also use the show ring to help move those breeds forward that are the most inclined to suffer from health conditions that affect their health and welfare.”*
Do you think it’s a good idea for Dog Shows to include health checks at dog shows? If so, should it be one vet or a team of vet that makes the decision?
Oscar and David are very grateful for the support Oscar has received over the past month. The web programmer is working extra long hours for some big surprises over the next few weeks. Be sure to have your best puppy pictures ready to show off. More details coming soon!
Just read the story of the dog who was presumed dead and found after 53 days. Oscar means the world to me, I don’t know what I wouldn’t do if he went missing, search parties being only the start. What would you do?
One of the good things about Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs (most of the time) is they are known as velcro dogs and like to stick by their owners. But dogs can be dogs. The second link below leads to the story of the Bernese Mountain Dog who ran away right before Westminster Kennel Club.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/owner_survives_days_with_nevada_bRtToPs5YDG3ZHc5wNpAuL
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/01/04/dog-slated-for-westminster-goes-missing/
Oscar got an Award of Merit at today’s working group show by the Connecticut River Working Group Association! A working group show is for working dogs only (greater swiss mountain, bernese, boxer, samoyed, etc) and has a huge swissy entry. Last year at these shows Oscar got a 5 point best of winners awards as a class (pre-champion) dog.
If any Oscar The Grouch fan is affected by the tornado/twisters and needs help, please contact us. We would like to help out. Below is an uplifting story of a terrier mix crawling home on broken legs after a tornado in May.
It was pouring rain outside and Oscar needed his daily exercise. So he walks across the hallway and knocks on the door of Rocco, the English Bulldog. Well, more like a run across the hallway and a bark. Rocco may be half the size of Oscar but can hold his own at Tug Of War. After ten minutes of playing, both puppies are tired and ready to pass out for the night.
Oscar and David are very grateful for the outpouring of support Oscar has received over the past 2 weeks. To thank their fans, they have hired a web programmer and have some surprises planned over the next few weeks! You’ll want to get your best puppy pictures ready to show off. More details to follow..
Many fans have asked why a swissy? In 2003 I had just graduated from school. My housemate’s ex-girlfriend got married and decided to start a family. While she was pregnant, as a favor, we took in Oscar. Having grown up with a small female dog, there was something different about taking care of this 5 yr old giant male dog who acted like a puppy. Walking around the University of Delaware campus, everyone would run up to play with Oscar. He loved the attention. From jumping in the car of any girl I would date, being my jogging partner, trying to steal my dates or at least all their attention, taking volleyballs from the courts at the dorm, and swiping food from you, he had his way. Giving Oscar back when I moved to NYC because my mom got sick was one of the saddest things I did. When I got another dog, I knew right then it would be a swissy and named after Oscar. Hence, Oscar The Grouch.
Below is a picture of Barton Manor’s Oscar.
2012 Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Top 20 rankings are out as of today! First place is Oliver (Westminster Winner 2011, didn’t enter this year) with 45 points. Second place is George (Westminster Winner 2012) with 31 points. Third place is Oscar the Grouch with 24 points.
A Top 20 finish usually needs 50-60 points and a top finish anywhere from 350-500 points. In 2011 the 2nd and 3rd place weren’t decided till the final weekend of showing.
http://www.caninechronicle.com/Statistics/breed-display.php?cat=634
Oscar the Grouch (Swissy #18) win or lose, thanks all his fans. That includes Synergy Dental Fresh, Snout Soother by the Natural Dog Company, YouthFootballOnline.com, and AlpenSchatz.com (Mountain Dog Collars). A huge thank you to Ben Cohen of the Wall Street Journal for that great article yesterday. Ben is an amazing writer!
Oscar The Grouch (Swissy #18) and his owner David, thankful of being able to show at Westminster Kennel Club, will be donating $500 later today to Angel On A Leash a charity chaired by David Frei, which has one of the best therapy dog programs out there. Oscar encourages other Westminster competitors and Greater Swiss Mountain Dog owners/breeders to donate what they can, to help this worthy charity.
Recently Oscar received his first piece of hate-mail. You know you hit it big when that happens.
“Wider Audience, really, noone has a website for their ‘pet’ dog, dog websites are for show, breeding or performance brags/info.
And you wouldn’t like what people are saying because of that, let’s just say not positive”
“You many not like it, but I was actually trying to help you. Though I think at this point you may have succeeded in alienating the entire swiss community, so I don’t really see the point anymore.”